McFadden, Raiders Run Past Jaguars 19-9

(AP) McFadden, Raiders run past Jaguars 19-9
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
OAKLAND, Calif.
Darren McFadden, Terrelle Pryor and the Oakland Raiders looked like a high-powered offense compared to Jacksonville.

McFadden ran for 129 yards and Oakland’s defense held the Jaguars out of the end zone until the closing minutes, as the Raiders won their home opener 19-9 on Sunday.

Pryor ran for 50 yards and threw for 126 in his first home start for the Raiders (1-1), and Marcel Reece scored on an 11-yard run to help Oakland bounce back from last week’s late loss in Indianapolis. Sebastian Janikowski added four field goals.

Playing the depleted Jaguars offense sure helped the cause. Jacksonville (0-2) came within 2:53 of becoming the first team since the 2006 Raiders and Buccaneers to fail to score a touchdown in the first two games.

The Jaguars entered the game without quarterback Blaine Gabbert (right hand), receiver Justin Blackmon (suspension) and tight end Marcedes Lewis (calf), and then lost star running back Maurice Jones-Drew in the first half to an ankle injury.

A week after allowing six sacks, dropping five passes and punting a franchise-record 11 times in a 28-2 loss to Kansas City, the Jaguars offense was nearly as bad under Chad Henne.

Jacksonville crossed midfield for the first time in the opening quarter in this game, as opposed to the fourth last week. And the Jaguars got their first touchdown of the season on Henne’s 13-yard pass to Clay Harbor after a fumble by McFadden late in the fourth quarter.

But there were many more blunders than highlights, as the Jaguars went over 36 minutes without a first down and didn’t generate any offense until the game was out of hand.

One of the most egregious mistakes came when D.J. Williams lined up in the neutral zone on a punt, prolonging a third-quarter drive that ended in a field goal by Janikowski that made it 13-3. Jason Babin also prolonged two scoring drives with penalties to help Pryor get his first win as an NFL starter in his third start.

Pryor, who beat out Matt Flynn for the starting job in training camp, was much less spectacular than he was a week ago in Indianapolis, when he recorded the eighth 200-yard passing, 100-yard rushing game since the 1970 merger.

But he also avoided many of the mistakes that plagued him a week ago, when his two interceptions contributed to a 21-17 loss. Pryor was often content to check down to shorter options and leave the game in his defense’s hands.

The Raiders started fast, forcing a three-and-out on Jacksonville’s first possession and converting a short field after Phillip Adams’ 30-yard punt return. They scored their first opening-drive touchdown since the final game of the 2011 season. Aided by a personal foul on Babin, Oakland took a 7-0 lead on Reece’s 11-yard run.

There wasn’t much offense the rest of the game. Pryor did not complete a pass past the line of scrimmage in the first 27 minutes, and Henne struggled to move the Jaguars down the field.

Jacksonville had its first scoring drive of the year on a 27-yard field goal by Josh Scobee when the offense couldn’t punch it in after first-and-goal from the 3.

Janikowski missed a 35-yard field goal attempt, ending a streak of 50 straight makes under 40 yards, but was successful on a 46-yarder from the infield dirt in the final seconds of the half to put Oakland up 10-3. He added two more field goals in the second half for the final margin.